More expensive Curacao and Cointreau drinken straight are one thing, but as a component of a drink with several ingredients nobody will taste the least slightest difference or subtlety. ...

on 2007-3-05 Chip & Andy wrote:
I challenge you to a Orange Liquor Throwdown! Or something like that, I have been watching too much FoodTV lately.
quote

OK Chip and Andy, lets have a Orange Liquor throwdown! I have quite a collection of orange liquors as I'm sure many of you do. Lets all use the same ingredients and make Mai Tais(what else). I asked the Bums opinion about curacao vs triple sec and here is what he had to say.

Aloha Ojaitimo,

Yes, triple sec, Cointreau, Curacao and Gran Marnier are all orange-based. That doesn't mean they're interchangable. Sausage, ham, bacon and pork ribs are all pig-based. Do they taste the same? The difference between Curacao, which is distilled from the dried peels of bitter oranges, and triple sec, which is a sweeter orange-flavored product, is pronounced. To take a non-Tiki example: there are hundreds of Margarita recipes, most calling for triple sec and some for Cointreau -- but I've never seen one that substitutes Curacao for triple sec. That should tell us something about subbing triple sec for Curacao in a Trader Vic Mai Tai. In the words of Grandmaster Flash: "Don't do it!" That is, if you want a true, classic Mai Tai. Everyone has different tastes -- so if you happen to prefer triple sec over Curacao, make your Mai Tai with triple sec. Drinking is all about making yourself happy!

The aroma and taste should be for both the individual liquor and the overall drink. And the price point should only be considered where one type of liquor is scarce (and therfore more expensive) regionaly. For example, in this neck of the woods Cointreau and Marie Brizard are easy to find but Senior Curacao and Bols are not.

For example, in this neck of the woods Cointreau and Marie Brizard are easy to find but Senior Curacao and Bols are not.

Liquor availability is a really odd thing. Bols is pretty easy to get here in Tucson, at at least one or two places, and costs about $10 a bottle. The Marie Brizard is impossible to find. There is one bottle of "Orange Liquor" MB here in town, but not a single bottle of Curacao. I did see it in Las Vegas when I was there, but I'm still holding out for a bottle of Seniors, which is completely unavailable in Arizona, from what I've been able to find.

As a comparison, you should probably try the Patron Citronage too. I was using that in my mai tai's until I bought a bottle of the Bols.

I stumbled across a liquor store that had what seemed to be a bunch of rejects and/or leftovers. I grabbed a bottle of Marie Brizard Orangero. Has anyone ever heard of this? All I can find is:

MB GRAND ORANGERO
Cognac based orange liqueur. Andalusia is one the prestigious parts of Spain where they traditionally grow the sweetest and juiciest oranges. If you distill the blend of sweet and bitter fruit, the result will be nothing else but Orangero.
Alcohol Content: 38%

This same store had Doorly's XO for $17. This rum has been on my list for some time and it was quite a surprise to find it, especially at less than half the price I expected. I also grabbed a bottle of Barrow's Grand Reserve rum for $16. I'm very curious about this rum.

Alas, Gentlemen, as much as I would like to dive into the challenge, my current lack of finances do not grant me the luxury of such a taste test. I've also already gone through this taste test in the past with others.

As I've stated in other posts on TC, I've tried different orange liqueurs in my mai tais and, while there is a subtle difference (not a world, as some would say) in their body and taste (including after-taste) when sipped straight, I've tasted no difference between them when mixed with the indredients of the mai tais I make. Because of this I stick to buying the less expensive orange liqueurs, and focus my money on the more important aspects of the drink -- the ones that make or break it.

The use of different rums will play into it. Already I can tell you that Appleton VX + Myers Dark + Leroux Curacao is very sweet - too sweet for me. But it might balance just fine with a dryer dark, or with a Orgeat that is less sweet that my homemade.

And speaking of Orgeat, all I have is my own homemade stuff, because all I can find is Fees and that rotgut went down the drain. And the limes I get in New England are probably very different than the selection you have in Cali. So we probably already have other differences anyway.

So I say to compare in your favorite recipe and describe what each does to that recipe. Maybe we will all end up agreeing with DJ.